The Things I Didn’t Learn

I hope I’m not tempting the god’s who teach lessons by saying this but I learned the hardest lessons of my life (so far) in the last 6 years. Somehow these lessons were recurring patterns that I was forced to learn here because I refused to learn them when I was in the company of family and friends who make up the only support system I had ever known before “the move”. So on this warm night in a new Gemini Moon, I thought I’d allow my introspective mood to take over and share with you 5 things that I didn’t learn soon enough.

1. If you try and fail, try again. But if you fail again, give it a rest.

It’s one thing to give it your old college try. It’s another when you’re just trying too hard. At some point as you haul your sisyphean ass up the hill pushing that boulder, your inner voices should already be screaming at you to stop, re-group, change strategy and if necessary, change the game.

Photo credit: amyelk.com

2. Playing by the rules doesn’t necessarily mean you will win.

More often than not, this good girl finishes last. And I say this in the most positive sense. In retrospect, there is not one heartbreak or disappointment that I do not embrace today. Sometimes its not just about winning, its about mastering the game. And the only way to do that is to play by the rules.

3. When in doubt, ask!

In this age of information, there is no excuse for ignorance. Nowadays, people that do not know are people who are lazy. It really pays to be well informed because believe me, what you do not know WILL hurt you.

Photo credit: thristhan.com

4. Regret is a good thing.

Think of us as Pavlov’s dog and the universe as Pavlov. Regret is simply the stimulus created by the universe to either prevent us from doing the same stupid things over and over again or encourage us to do things right the next time around. Without this stimulus (i.e. regret), we could miss the opportunity to right a wrong.

Photo credit: markstivers.com

5. The best way to show appreciation for anyone’s compassion and generosity towards you, is to pay it forward.